Eggplant and Swiss Chard Tortino

I should warn you, it’s a hundred percent probable that I will turn into a layer cake by the end of March.

After all, they do say that you are what you eat. And between my birthday, my anniversary, my sister’s birthday, The.Boy’s birthday (which includes a family birthday party this coming weekend and a friends birthday party the weekend after), and Easter…if I don’t turn into a big fluffball of swiss meringue buttercream, flour and sugar, it will be a miracle of epic proportions.

So I’ve tried to balance it out. With more cake.

Of the savory variety.

You see, tortino means “little cake” in Italian so while this may seem to us uncultured Americans like a layered casserole it’s actually a savory layer cake once you cross the Atlantic Ocean.

It’s all semantics really except that a tortino is totally party-worthy while a casserole is met with much less fanfare.

And if I’m going to turn into a cake anyway, I might as well throw some swiss chard filling and parmesan frosting into the mix. Especially now that the Mediterranean diet is back in good standing. (Yes, how shocking that eating whole, unprocessed foods will combat heart disease and stroke. Cue eye roll.)

Finally we can have our cake and eat it too. And if we’re lucky, it might even counteract some of that buttercream you know we’ve been licking out of the stand mixer. We can only hope.

Lightly brush both sides of the eggplant slices with the olive oil and placed on two parchment-lined baking sheets in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake in a 400 degree oven until tender and just browning on top, about 15-20 minutes.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and swiss chard and saute until the swiss chard has wilted. Mix in the provolone until it melts.

Let the chard cool and then mix in the eggs.

Cover the bottom of a greased 10-inch springform pan with 1/3 of the eggplant slices, followed by 1/2 of the swiss chard mixture, 1/2 of the mozzarella, 1/3 of the eggplant, and the remaining swiss chard, mozzarella, and eggplant. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese.

Bake until the top is golden brown and the sides are bubbling, about 25-30 minutes.

Serve topped with marinara sauce.

You are reading this post on Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of Eats Well With Others. All rights reserved by Joanne Bruno.

Ow wow. My December is your March. With 4 family birthdays, Christmas, and Hanukkah…by January 1st I had sworn off cake. Too bad I didn’t know about this tortino back then, to get me through my cleanse faze.

Ahh you are the absolute BEST at making the most delicious veggies ever. This tart-like contraption is so delicious looking! And keep the cakes coming–I tried to make your salted caramel cake but I burnt the caramel 🙁 I will keep trying though!

Isn’t it crazy how birthdays tend to cluster around each other? In Peter’s family’s case, it’s birthdays AND holidays – October to January is just one long cake and pie fest. Now this, THIS is a cake I will dive into after the sugar rush of the holidays is finally over. Love it! 🙂

Dumb question–do you ‘sweat’ your eggplants before cooking with them (salt them and let them rest to remove the water)? Fortunately, my birthday is in July. Not only are there few holidays around that time, but they tend not to be food holidays and no one feels like eating an enormous amount in the middle of the summer. However, at least having your family birthdays mainly February through March, it is still sweater rather than swimsuit season!

What gorgeousness! Even though it has humble (and savoury) origins this baby shines out. Like Ralph Wiggam from the Simpsons saig to Lisa… “I choo-choo-choose YOU!” little savoury cake hiding your amazing allure under the carpet of cake cover. I could even veganise this recipe with homemade mozzarella and besan and I reacon it would STILL taste amazing. I have home grown eggplants coming out of my ears and need sterling recipes to deal with them that give centre stage to these gorgeous babies. This recipe is just such a recipe. I am going to try this ASAP 🙂

Joanne, this is spectacular. As to miracles, best not to try the walk on water routine until you are back on regular food plan :-). I hope your week is off to a great start. Have a wonderful day. Blessings…Mary

Wow, that looks great. I was out at a fancy restaurant this weekend (more birthdays!) and the scalloped potatoes looked like a piece of cake. This is a lovely idea, I think I need to start making more of my dinner look like dessert.

After making (and eating!) a layer cake on the weekend, this is looking very appealing. And very appropriate. I’m delighted to learn the meaning of tortino too – I’m going to do my utmost to throw it into casual conversation.

This is a cake I could totally get behind! I love all the fresh veggies and the CHEESE! It’s really beautiful too. Funny thing, I was looking at the posts you listed from years past and I remember eating that leg of lamb with the pomegranate tabbouleh with you! Can’t believe it was 2 years ago! Miss you, sweetie! Gonna send you an email soon 🙂 xo

Hello Joanne! I am a new reader, now addicted to your blog.I made this last night (only substituted baked tomatoes for the eggplant and added sausage for my meat-loving BF) and it was awesome! We ate the whole thing just the 2 of us.

March is a month of reprieve from birthdays and it has been a nice change – good luck with your month of buttercream – the tortino sounds delicious and just what you will need to balance up all that sugar and cream 🙂

I just pulled all the Swiss Chard out of the garden so we could replant for spring/summer. Definitely looks like a great way to use it, although I’m having a little trouble deciding between this and the tacos 🙂